


Scrap Queen, Literally

by pureofheartdumbofass28



Category: Ace Combat
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mutual Pining, Politics, Slow Burn, Tags to be updated as story progresses, i am once again writing extremely niche fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 13,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25828423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pureofheartdumbofass28/pseuds/pureofheartdumbofass28
Summary: After the Lighthouse War, Avril has nowhere to go. Cossette makes an offer.
Relationships: Avril "Scrap Queen" Mead/Rosa Cossette D'Elise, Count/Trigger (Ace Combat)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 35





	1. After the War

**Author's Note:**

> So, I played Ace Combat 7 for the first time a while ago, and I really enjoyed Avril and Cossette's interactions. And I figured nobody else is going to write fic about them, since from what I've seen most of the fandom is... less comfortable with the existence of gay people than I am. So, I wrote this. Also Trigger and Count are together because I just think they're neat.

Tyler Island Air Force Base was, Avril had decided, a much better living arrangement than her accommodations in the 444 squadron. Here, she was at least living in a barracks, rather than a cell. Here, she could go outside the base without being hunted down by guard dogs. And of course, she was able to watch the news.

Most of the news was about the relief efforts for the Erusean refugees now gathered near the space elevator. A few channels had interviews from government officials, generals, and the like discussing the war: why it had started, how it had ended, why they absolutely _could not be held responsible_ for any of the horrible events that took place, no sir. It had started to get tiresome, but Avril kept watching them, as time went on. After all, it was something to do.

Which was why, about two weeks after the end of the war, she turned on a news channel and saw the headline _Osean Ace Speaks Out Against Government._ There, up on the screen, was Trigger, almost difficult to recognize when not wearing a flight suit.

His voice rang out from the screen, and it took Avril a moment to discern the words. " _... the Osean government is anything but innocent of the crimes committed during the war. During the time I spent in a penal unit, I came to learn that my comrades there were just_ people _. They were not violent criminals, or dangerous lunatics. They were arrested for minor misdemeanors and for them they were sent to die on the front lines. I knew someone in there who was arrested simply for speaking out against the government. Now he's dead, crushed by an Erusean drone. How can Osea claim the moral high ground when this is what happens to those who criticize them?"_

The feed cut to a nervous looking reporter in the crowd. " _I'm sorry, are you saying that Erusea was right in going to war with Osea?"_

Back to Trigger. " _Erusea started the war out of a misguided sense of being wronged by Osea, and the idealism of a few corrupt politicians. This war was a tragedy, but if we are going to rebuild after it, we need to acknowledge the flaws in both the Osean_ and _Erusean governments."_

Ironically, it was about then that Trigger entered the room, saying "Hey, Avril, are you..." He stopped and looked at the screen. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Avril barked out a laugh. "Nice speech, dumbass. The president's probably calling in the assassins as we speak."

Trigger laughed. "I'd like to see them try." He moved over to sit next to Avril.

After a moment, Avril spoke up: "I guess Tabloid really rubbed off on you, huh?"

Trigger shrugged. "Maybe a little, but I mostly have the Belkans to thank for my radicalization. Without them framing me, I wouldn't have seen how shitty the penal units are up close."

"You know, Tabloid was Belkan."

"Really? He never said anything about it to me."

"He told me when we were on our way to the lighthouse. Before... well, you know."

Trigger sighed. "I miss him."

Avril looked at the ground. "Well, he'd probably be pretty proud of you. Denouncing the government and all."

Trigger's gaze was far away. "It's about as close as I get to his whole 'anarchist' philosophy. Countries should exist, but we've gotta try and make them less shitty first."

"Amen to that."

They were silent for a moment.

Eventually, the door burst open, and Cossette walked in. "Hey, Avril."

Avril looked up. "Your Royal Highness! You're just in time to watch Trigger's anarchist speech."

Cossette smiled, and moved over to sit next to Avril. The three of them sat there for a while, listening to Trigger politely ask the Osean government to provide people with human rights, until Cossette spoke.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Trigger sighed. "Well, I was thinking of leaving the military, maybe teaching at a flight school."

Avril smiled. "Training the next generation of aces?"

Trigger chuckled. "Something like that."

Cossette turned to Avril. "What about you?"

Avril looked off into the distance. "I... I'm not sure. I don't really have a home to go back to, or a family... i doubt anyone will want to give a job to me, I am a criminal after all... I don't know."

Cossette was silent for a moment, then said: "You can live with me, in the royal palace!"

Avril was taken aback. "I... Isn't that for the royal family? Last I checked, I'm not Erusean royalty."

Cossette was beaming with excitement now. "We can give you a job that requires you to be there! Maybe make you the... royal mechanic, or something!"

Avril chuckled nervously. "You know, the whole 'Scrap Queen' thing was just meant to be a joke."

Cossette's grin was ear-to-ear. "Not anymore, it's not."


	2. Arrivals and Politics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avril arrives at Chateau D'Elise. Cossette has work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, i'd like to thank everyone for the surprising amount of vocal support I've gotten for this fic. I really didn't expect very much in the way of readership, and this is definitely a welcome surprise. So really, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

The flight to the old Chateau was only an hour and a half, but Cossette was still anxious throughout the flight. After all, the last time she had flown in an Erusean liaison plane, it hadn't exactly gone well. Nevertheless, they made it safely to the airstrip near the Chateau without any major complications. Soon, Avril and Cossette were standing in front of the doors.

"Here we are" said Cossette. Her voice seemed to have an almost reverent tone. "Chateau D'elise. The main royal palace was mostly destroyed in the attack on Farbanti, so the royal family has been relocated here. It's not as... elegant... but-"

Avril cut her off with a laugh. "Are you kidding? This place... it's huge! I think I'll fit in just fine here."

Cossette smiled. "This is the original home of the D'Elise family. When the monarchy was restored after the Continental War, the royal family moved to Farbanti, but before that, we lived here." She looked up at the old building, seeming almost giddy. "I never thought i'd actually live here. It's... beautiful."

For a moment, Avril just watched the princess take in the sight. after a few seconds, she realized she was staring and looked away, her cheeks heating up. "Well... I suppose we should go see what the inside looks like."

Grinning, Cossette walked up and opened the door. They walked in, and looked around at the ornate interior of the palace. The two stood there, entranced for a while, until a man wearing a suit walked up to Cossette.

Cossette turned to the man. "What is it?"

The man nodded. "Apologies, your highness, but the papers have arrived for you to review."

The princess sighed and turned to Avril. Avril smirked. "Duty calls?"

Cossette sighed. "I'm afraid so. I need to look over the new treaty from Osea. Elias here can show you to your room."

The princess walked off. The man- Elias- turned to Avril. "Right this way, madam."

Avril grinned. "Madam? I could get used to this."

* * *

Cossette sat in her office, reading through pages and pages of dense legalese.

_...Erusea will respect the sovereignty of the smaller nations that broke off from them in the latter half of the war..._ After the satellites were destroyed, Erusea had become much smaller, as many of the countries it had annexed decades ago seized their chances to rebel. Cossette agreed that they should have been freed long ago.

_...No country will attempt to use a "penal unit" or any similar idea in warfare, and any personnel involved in the management of these units will be court-martialed..._ Using petty criminals as expendable soldiers, sent to die on the front lines, was a dozen human rights violations in one. Trigger had been right about the need to dismantle them, and the people in charge definitely needed to be punished.

_...nor will Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) units be used in a military application by any country, private militia, corporation, or other entity..._ The drones used by Erusea had kept the war going for far longer than it needed to, and remained active and malicious for some time after hostilities between Osea and Erusea had ceased. Cossette shuddered, thinking of what could had happened if those two experimental drones hadn't been shot down.

_...and all individuals involved in the development of drone A.I. will be arrested pending trial..._ It still infuriated Cossette how easily Dr. Schroeder and the other Belkans had tricked her people. All it took was a promise of clean warfare, and a chance to get back at Osea, and half of the government, including her father, had just... gone along with it.

_...Both Osea and Erusea will assist in the relocation of refugees who fled eastern Usea during the conflict..._ After three months, the refugees had been kept safe around the space elevator, but there were still tens of thousands who needed housing, food, and other supplies. Cossette noticed that even though Yuktobania hadn't been included in the requirements, they had still kept dropping supplies for the refugees for months. It was nice to see how people can come together to help each other.

_...The International Space Elevator will remain operational, as a platform for space travel to be used by any nation..._ The issue with the space elevator, Cossette thought, was that it was used as a way to control Erusea. If it weren't for the Arsenal Birds, it would have been simply a power source, communication tower, and platform for space exploration. As it was, many saw it as a symbol of Osean imperialism, and it was hard for Cossette to disagree.

All of a sudden, the door opened, and Avril walked in. "There you are! Wow, this place is like a maze."

Cossette looked up. "Oh... hi, Avril. What are you doing here?"

"I was just looking for you. Are you... doing alright?" said Avril.

"I just... need to finish this. It's important."

Avril sighed. "Well, alright. But don't overwork yourself, okay?"

"I- I won't." Avril left, which Cossette appreciated, as it meant she couldn't see her blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, done! Don't worry, i promise this slowburn won't be all politics. I've still got plenty of romance planned.


	3. The Journey Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is told. A promise made a long time ago is fulfilled.

Avril woke up to the sound of singing. At first, she tried to drown it out, but when it didn't stop she accepted that she wouldn't be going back to sleep.

When she made her way down, Cossette was sitting next to a small radio. After a few seconds, Cossette turned to her. "Oh, you're awake!"

Avril sighed. "Well, I have your music to blame for that."

Cossette was smiling brightly in that way of hers. "Do you... recognize it?"

Avril thought for a moment. "The music?" She stared off into space, and then started humming along to it. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "It's that song- the one the refugees were singing after we blew up the tanks back on Tyler Island."

Cossette nodded. "It's an old Erusean folk song- 'Pensees'."

Avril sighed. "Well... it's pretty."

Cossette nodded, looking off into space. It was a while before she spoke. "Today's the trial- the one for that Belkan doctor, who built the drones."

"Schroeder? Figured he'd be in prison for life by now."

"Apparently not. They've got a whole plan on how to convict him."

Avril looked up, a smirk on her face. "Do tell."

"Well, the problem is that it's hard to actually prove that he's committed any crimes. There weren't any cameras when he said all that about being Belkan, and building drones isn't exactly a crime- or rather, it wasn't at the time. So what they're doing is proving that his research was unethical."

"What do you mean?"

"They're going to prove that he didn't have the full, informed consent of that legendary ace when he used his data. That'll be enough to convict him."

Avril whistled. "Very clever."

* * *

"Mr. Mihaly A. Shilage, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes, I do."

Mihaly was in a wheelchair, hooked up to an IV pole. Avril noted that he looked... _tired_.

"Did you or did you not agree to be a part of Dr. Schroeder's experiments in Artificial Intelligence?"

"I did."

"And when the new drones were being destroyed at a higher rate, did you or did you not agree to fly on the front lines in order to collect new combat data?"

"I did."

"And you did so with awareness of the risks to your health?"

"Yes, i was aware of the risks."

Avril sighed, but then the lawyer said "Including the increased cancer risk?"

Mihaly looked up. "I'm sorry?"

"Flying at high altitude for prolonged periods of time allows your body to be bombarded by ultraviolet light. At your age, that causes a greatly increased risk of cancer development. Were you aware of this?"

Mihaly didn't meet the lawyer's eyes. "... no, I was not aware of that."

"Would you have agreed to be a part of the testing if you were?"

Mihaly was silent for a long time. When he spoke, his voice had a sort of gravity to it. "I don't know. All I wanted was to fly the open skies again. Perhaps I would have continued to fly, despite the risk, or perhaps I would have chosen to stay grounded, with my family. It's Impossible to know for sure which I would have chosen."

"But this information would have affected your choice?"

Mihaly sighed. "Yes."

The lawyer turned towards the Belkan doctor. "Did you intentionally withhold this information?"

The doctor looked at the ground. "Yes, I did."

"Why?"

Schroeder sighed. "I believed that Mihaly would not agree to continued testing if I told him."

The lawyer nodded solemnly.

Cossette turned to Avril and smiled. "I told you."

* * *

A week later, Avril burst into the palace's living room. "There you are!"

Cossette sat up. "What is it? Did something happen?"

Avril was grinning excitedly. "The Osean government just released a bunch of classified documents."

Cossette sat up. "More about the war?"

"Not the one you're thinking of. Harling said back in 2013 that the records from the Belkan conflict would be released in 2020. Well," she waved her hands for emphasis, "they're out. You're not gonna believe this one. That astronaut who arrived after Trigger shot down the drones? She was one of the _a_ _ces of razgriz"_.

Cossette stared at her blankly.

Avril sighed dramatically. "You know? The heroes of the Circum-Pacific war? Destroyed the Yuktobanian advanced submarines? Shot down the Arkbird after the Belkans took it? Destroyed the SOLG when the Belkans tried to crash it into Oured?"

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"Well, they're famous heroes. Kinda like Trigger, but there's four of them."

"I meant, about the war."

Avril sighed. "Well, of course I do. That was the war my dad died in."

Cossette looked away. "I... I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay." Avril took a deep breath. "It was an air raid. They were going after the Yuktobanian capital, Cinigrad. My dad volunteered to cover the retreat, as a rear guard. And, well... rear guard's a dangerous job. He didn't come back."

Cossette chuckled, humorlessly. "Well, that's something we have in common."

Avril blinked. "What?"

"My father died in an Osean attack, just after the satellites went out. So I guess we both have parents who died in war."

Avril sighed. "Isn't that ironic."

* * *

The rest of the day was full of discussions of the new documents. With their Identities revealed, the Ghosts of Razgriz had to explain where they were now. The answer, of course, was that the four of them were living together, in the Yuktobanian countryside. It was nice, Avril thought, that they were able to retire quietly. Of course, now that everyone knew who they were, she doubted that would last.

The news for the next few days was dominated by more information about the war, interviews with the aces, a speech from the Osean president mourning Harling, on, and on, and on. _At least it's something new_ , thought Avril. There had been four months of nearly uninterrupted coverage of the effects of the Lighthouse war, so it was good to see something else for a change.

And as the sun set, Avril wondered what would happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying this consistent upload schedule, because I can assure you it will not last.  
> So, I watched a playthrough of AC5 a little while ago, and I saw that the documents would be released in 2020, and just thought "hey, that's when this fic takes place!". So, here's that.  
> Also, I found out that the credits song of AC7 is the song that the Eruseans sing then, or at least the same tune, so that's there too.  
> Anyway, your kudos and comments are appreciated more than you know, thank you for all your support!


	4. Friendly Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our royals get a visit from some old friends.

Avril stole a glance at the enormous grandfather clock in the corner of the chateau's "living room". Just past two o'clock.

"They're late," she mumbled, loud enough for only Cossette to hear.

Cossette looked up from her book. "They're _children_ , Avril. Don't worry."

Avril just sighed in response, and went back to her copy of _Gaze_ Magazine.

After a few more minutes, they heard the doorbell ring, and sat up.

"They're here!" Cossette's smile was _infectious._ The two walked up to the door, and opened it to reveal the grandchildren of one of the greatest aces in Erusea's history.

Cossette ran forward. "Lonela!" She ran over and hugged her old friend.

Avril stood back in the doorway. She waved awkwardly. "Hi."

Cossette and Lonela separated. Cossette waved towards the door. "Come in!"

The four of them sat down in what Cossette stubbornly insisted on calling the "drawing room"- _"It's a living room, Cossette! Just call it that!"_

Cossette spoke first. "So, how's the relief efforts?"

Lonela smiled. "We've been doing pretty well. All the supplies from Yuktobania are enough to keep them safe, and we're working on more permanent housing for them in Selatapura. What about you? Rebuilding a whole country up here?"

Avril laughed. "Yeah, and she only spends about nine hours a day doing it. Honestly," she leaned in to stage whisper to the two, "one of these days she's going to fall asleep at her desk."

The kids giggled, and Cossette glared at Avril, but there was no malice behind it. "I am doing important work to repair my country after it was betrayed by its own government-"

"But could you at least spare a _little time_ to sleep? You're going to overwork yourself." interrupted Avril.

The kids just sat there, watching the two bicker.

"I'm fine, thank you very much. I just have a lot on my plate, especially now. You'll have to forgive me for trying to help my people."

Avril turned to the kids. "You see what I have to deal with? Unbelievable. Won't even spare a minute for herself, because she's too focused on _her people-"_

"Well, I'm sorry for caring about the _millions_ displaced, the _entire nations_ in chaos, and the warmongers who still walk free _today_ -"

"I'm not asking you not to care about them!" Avril took a deep breath. "I'm... just asking you to care about yourself too."

Cossette was taken aback, and then she sighed. "You're right."

Avril leaned in. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're right. Thank you."

"I just... I just worry about you, okay?"

"I know." Cossette took a shaky breath.

"Okay. Love you, princess."

Cossette smiled wryly. "Love you too, scrap queen."

Avril turned to the kids. "Sorry about that."

The two children who had been watching this unfold exchanged a knowing look. "No, it's fine," said Lonela.

* * *

"We saw your granddad on the TV," said Avril.

Lonela looked up. "The trial?"

Avril nodded. "You two weren't there."

Lonela sighed. "I didn't want to see him talk about all the pain that doctor caused him. Neither did Alma."

Avril looked off into the distance. "Makes sense. Where is he now?"

"He's living in Voslage, back in the old castle."

"The one that got bombed?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Well, I hope he's doing alright, I guess."

* * *

"So, where are you two heading?" asked Cossette.

"Back down to the lighthouse. We're helping restart the transmissions array."

"Good luck."

"You too." The two sisters started to walk away, then Lonela turned back and said "Oh, by the way: You two are very cute together." And with that, she walked away, hand in hand with her little sister.

Avril and Cossette watched her go, then turned around and went back inside. "I wonder what she meant by that?" said Cossette.

Avril shrugged. "Probably nothing. You know how kids are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to my friends on discord for the idea of these two platonically saying "I love you" to each other and still not realizing that they're in love.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the delay on this one, I got hit with some really bad writer's block. I'll try to stick to the "one a week" schedule I had before. And yeah, I know it's a short one, hopefully the next few will be longer.
> 
> Leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed!


	5. Late Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A typical evening for our royals.

Recently, Avril and Cossette had taken to spending time together in what Avril had finally convinced her housemate was a living room. There, the two would sit and read, mostly in silence. It was a nice way to spend time together, Avril thought.

Tonight, Cossette was reading some enormous hardback book. Looking at it reminded Avril of those old novels that Tabloid used to talk about. She remembered that when she had tried to talk about how he fought Mihaly, he went on a whole tangent about some other series. He had talked for half an hour at least, something about wizards and magic, and about how he didn't like the author? Avril tried to remember, then thought better of it.

 _I wonder what he would think of where I am now_ , thought Avril, then shook her head. There was no point in dwelling on what he would or wouldn't have thought. She turned the page. There, on the next page of her magazine, was an article titled "Heroes of Spare squadron". Looking at it, Avril saw that it documented what had happened in the penal units, the conditions in them, even interviews with a few of the pilots. Avril laughed.

"How about that."

Cossette looked up. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Avril looked back at her magazine, then looked back at Cossette. "Hey, what book is that?"

"Oh! It's this... science fiction series. I have the first book over on the shelf."

Avril stood up. "Where is it?"

Cossette got up, and led her over to the book. After picking it out, Avril sat back down, and began reading. A moment later, that butler- Elias- walked over.

"Pardon me, Ma'am-"

Cossette sighed and stood up. "Alright, I know."

Avril smirked. "A princess' work is never done."

Cossette glared at her, then laughed. "Let me know what you think of that book."

"Will do."

Cossette walked off, and Avril resumed her reading.

* * *

Avril closed the book and sighed. She hadn't read a full book in one evening like that since... when was it? Maybe high school? It was a good book, sure, even if she wasn't much of a fan of a few of the characters.

She snuck a glance at the grandfather clock that dominated the living room. It was just past 11:00. Well, she did say she would tell Cossette what she thought, although she was probably asleep by now. Still, Avril began to quietly walk up towards her housemate's sleeping quarters.

After arriving at the entrance to Cossette's room, Avril noticed that the lights were on. Taking this to mean that she was awake, Avril opened the door.

"Hey Cossette, I finished-"

The room was large, and it took Avril a moment to spot the desk in the corner, and the sleeping princess atop it.

Avril sighed. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."

She walked over to the desk. "I told her this would happen, I told her- Cossette? Can you hear me?"

When she didn't respond, Avril threw her hands up in the air. "Oh, of course, she's out cold. I told her this would happen. I did tell her."

She stood there for a little while longer, then sighed again. "Well, I _guess_ I can't just leave you here, your royal highness."

8 years of working on planes had left Avril fairly strong, after all. So she sighed, and picked up the princess in a bridal carry.

"Huh, I thought she'd be heavier" she smiled, and began to carry Cossette over to her bed, ignoring how her cheeks heated up.

Avril lay her down, and stood there for a moment, then sighed. "Right." She reached over and pulled Cossette's sheets over her.

As Avril watched, a slight smile grew across Cossette's sleeping face. Avril smiled too, before realizing she _probably shouldn't be staring_ and looked away, ears red.

She did sneak another glance, however, and then froze. _Wait... I_ -

And then Avril had a long-overdue realization about her feelings for Cossette.

"Oh." She said aloud, followed by "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."

Cossette stirred, but did not wake.

"Son of a bitch!" Avril said, quietly as not to wake the princess. "Am I seriously-" She turned to look at Cossette. Cossette's hair had fallen into her eyes when she stirred, and Avril reached over to brush a lock of it out of her face. Then, she stopped again, and groaned.

"Fuuuuuck me."

Avril quietly exited the room.

* * *

Cossette yawned. Looking around, she frowned. How did she get here? Last she remembered, she was working on the reparations for Vosilage, so when did she go to bed?

Her attention was drawn to a piece of paper lying on her desk. Cossette slowly sat up, and walked over to it and read what was on it.

_Hey Dumbass,_

_Remember when I told you not to overwork yourself, because "one of these days you're going to fall asleep at your desk"? Yeah, that's pretty much what happened.  
_

_Please, try to go to sleep next time,_

_-A_

Cossette read the handwritten note once, then twice. _Avril carried me to bed,_ she realized. _She really cares._

The princess grinned. _I'm glad I have her to look after me,_ she thought. Then she froze, and her grin faded.

 _Wait, I think I_ -

The note slipped out of her hands. Cossette's grin was replaced by a look of abject horror.

And as she was gripped by a similar realization to the one that befell Avril earlier, the princess whispered, very quietly:

" _Oh no._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, remember when I said this would be up over the weekend? Sorry about that.
> 
> Anyway, now they're at least both aware of their own feelings. The rest should be easy, right? Well, not according to my outline, it's not.
> 
> Kudos and comments are extremely appreciated, thank you all for your support!


	6. What can we do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger and Count arrive at the palace.

The airfield outside Chateau D'Elise had once, a long time ago, been used by the Erusean Air force. After the dissolution of the monarchy during the Usean Coup D'etat, and later them moving to Farbanti after the Continental War, it had been left alone. The military hadn't used in in decades now. However, it was still being used to transport people to and from the old Chateau, now that the princess was living there. Which is why there was an Osean transport plane on the runway, lowering its boarding ramp.

Trigger was the first one out of the plane, wearing an Osean air force uniform, with a noticeable lack of medals. He walked over to where Avril and the princess were standing.

Avril nodded. "Dumbass."

"Scrap queen." Trigger responded.

Avril walked over and pulled her friend into a tight hug.

After they broke away, Trigger turned to the princess and nodded. "Your highness. I've been seeing you on the news. I think you're doing a lot of good up here."

"Thank you."

Count walked down the ramp after Trigger, grinning. "Hey, it's a whole spare squadron reunion!"

Avril smiled. "Good to see you too, 'Sir Count'."

"Oh!" Trigger said. "I don't think you two have been introduced. Princess, this is my partner, Count."

Count made an exaggerated curtsy motion. "Your royal highness."

Cossette laughed, while Avril said "So, how's teaching treating you?"

"Well, I'm trying. Right now, I think I'll be staying here for a while, maybe until the excitement over me being Three Strikes dies down."

Avril grinned. "Hiding from fame?"

"Something like that."

It was remarkable easy, thought Avril, the way they fell back into their usual banter. _Some things never change, I guess._

* * *

"So, I've got a problem."

Cossette had gone to show Count around, so Avril and Trigger were alone in her room. Trigger looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I-" Avril sighed. "Okay. So you and Count are together. Congrats, by the way."

"Thank you." said Trigger.

"So... how did you know he liked you? In that way, I mean."

"I- wait." Trigger grinned at Avril. "You like someone, don't you?"

Avril's face grew hot. "...maybe."

He laughed. "Good for you! Who's the lucky lady?"

Avril glared at him. "I'm not going to tell you who the _lucky lady_ is-"

"Is it the princess?"

Avril flinched. "I- _how did you know that?"_

Trigger spread his hands placatingly. "Honestly? Total guess."

Avril sighed. "Okay, could you just answer the question? And don't tell Cossette about any of this."

"Of course." Trigger stared off into space. "Well, back in spare squadron, once he had warmed up to me, some of the things he said seemed... pretty flirtatious. We spent a lot of time arguing back then, but eventually he seemed to open up, sort of. And once we were out of the penal unit, it got more obvious. So, one time, after one of our sorties, I asked him three questions: Are you flirting with me, do you mean it, and can I kiss you."

"Well, that's pretty sweet. Doesn't help much, but it's sweet."

"Hey, I'm not done. After that, and especially after Farbanti, he really opened up around me. He seemed like he... like he wanted todo more to help me. Hell, he was willing to help dogfight Mihaly in his experimental plane before I told him to fall back. It's like... acts of service, to show he cares. He still does it now."

"What kind of acts?"

"Well, just something to show that you care. Like, oh I don't know, inviting someone to live in your royal palace with you?"

Avril stood up. "I'm leaving."

"Hey, it makes sense! I think she likes you!"

"I'm not dealing with this." She walked out of the room.

"Come on!"

Avril slammed the door.

* * *

Cossette had offered to show Trigger to his room. The Chateau was like a maze, she said, so it was best that she lead him around. Once they were in his room, she shut the door. "I need to talk to you."

Trigger stopped. "Um... what is it?"

"You and Avril know each other, right?"

Bewildered, Trigger answered "I... yeah, we were in the penal unit together."

"Good. Do you know why she's acting so strange?"

"Excuse me?"

"She's been acting odd around me, for a couple weeks now. I feel like she's trying to avoid me. It's like she hates me all of a sudden."

Trigger sighed deeply. _Now this is going to be a problem._ "Okay. I can tell you with complete certainty that Avril does not hate you."

"So why is she acting like this?"

"Well... she's been through a lot. There's a lot that's changing for her in these last few months, and it might be hard to deal with it all."

"So what can I do?"

"Just... give her time. She'll get better. Try to help her if you can, but if she doesn't want you to, don't push it."

"Okay. I just... I want her to be okay. I care about her."

"Okay. Remember what I said."

"I will." Cossette started to leave, then turned and said "Oh and... don't tell her about this."

Trigger sighed. "Of course."

* * *

Trigger pulled open the door to Count's room. "Hi. Wow, this place really is a maze."

Count sat up on his bed. "What is it?"

Trigger sighed. "The princess and our scrap queen are in love with each other."

"Really? Good for them!"

"Except," Trigger sighed, "They each think it's one sided. Avril came to me because she likes Cossette but she thinks Cossette only sees her as a friend. And then, Cossette shows up, and she thinks Avril hates her, and they're both idiots."

"Huh." Count was silent for a moment. "Well, we could always set them up somehow."

Trigger laughed. "We'll be their wingman?"

"I was about to make that joke, asshole."

"Oh, you love me."

Count smiled fondly. "Yeah, I do." He looked up. "I've got an idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry this took two weeks. I'm trying to write these regularly, I really am. I'm just bad at it.
> 
> What is Count's idea? Are Avril and Cossette idiots? Will Trigger's suffering end? All this, and more, next chapter!


	7. Dark Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Count and Trigger have a surprise for the two royals.

There wasn't much to do with her time here at the Chateau, so Avril had taken to reading more and more often. She had taken an interest in that series Cossette had recommended, and Avril had to admit: she was hooked. She was now on the third book, and it was very interesting. It was nice to chat with Cossette about the books, too. Of course, it also made things more difficult, since... well, their friendship certainly wouldn't last once Cossette found out about Avril's feelings. Still, it was a nice way to pass time, and reading provided some necessary relaxation.

Naturally, her relaxation was disturbed by Trigger, appearing out of breath. "Hey," he said. "I've got something to show you."

Avril sighed, shutting her book. "What is it?"

"Well, it's... a surprise?"

Avril glared at him.

"Look, will you just come with me? I promise it'll be worth it."

"Real ringing endorsement," Avril muttered, but stood up anyway.

The two walked out of the living room, out of the chateau altogether, and down a dirt path that Avril recognized.

"...Why are we going to the old airfield?" Avril wondered aloud.

"I told you. Surprise." answered Trigger.

The two walked until they were standing outside one of the hangars, near...

"Cossette?"

"And me, I'm here too." added Count.

"Oh, Avril. What... are you doing here?"

"Well, that's a great question." Avril said, glaring at Trigger.

Count cleared his throat. "Okay! So, you two are definitely wondering what the surprise is, so I'll just go ahead with it. Trigger, you may do the thing."

Trigger stared blankly, before jolting, saying "Oh! Right," and fishing a small remote out of his pocket. When he hit the button on it, the hangar door started to open. In the hangar was...

...a plane.

A very old, somewhat brick-shaped plane, painted dark green with an orange rose emblem on the tail. Looking closer, Avril could see the chipped paint, the lack of missiles (hell, not even a gun, it looked like), and the signs of wear and tear on the engines.

She knew what plane it was even before Count said "It's an old Erusean F-4 Phantom II. One of the oldest kinds of planes still in active service, mothballed and left here after the Usean Coup D'Etat. I saw it on the way in, and yesterday Trigger and I looked it over. It's old, but it'll still fly."

"Okay," Avril started, "but why did you bring us out here to... oh no."

"Yep!" Trigger said.

"No way."

"Yeah," said Count "We think you'd enjoy flying it, Scrap Queen. You too, your highness."

Cossette almost laughed. "Excuse me?"

"It's a two seater. Avril's flown planes from it's era before, and the copilot doesn't really have to do anything with all the weapons removed. Which they are, by the way. No missiles, no bombs, not even the cannon. You're not going to accidentally blow anything up." explained Trigger.

Cossette shifted uncomfortably. "Well... I suppose it couldn't hurt. Avril?"

Avril sighed. "Trigger, could I talk to you for a second?" she asked, before pulling him away by the arm.

"Ow- hey! I thought you'd like flying!"

Avril sighed. "I would, I really would, but that's not all this is, is it? You're setting us up!"

"Well... yeah." Avril groaned, and Trigger continued "Oh, is that so bad? We're trying to help! Just some romantic flying with your lady love-"

"One: do not call Cossette my _lady love_ ever again. Two: it's not going to work. She's not just going to- fall for me just over this!" hissed Avril.

Trigger shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to try, I suppose."

" _I am going to kill you_."

"Love you too, Scrap Queen."

* * *

"Do you think they're alright?"

Count shrugged. "Eh, Avril's always had a bit of a temper. Probably doesn't mean anything."

"Really?" asked Cossette. "She doesn't act that way around _me_."

Count flinched, then sighed. "I bet not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing! Just... eh, just forget about it."

* * *

Getting suited up took Avril and Cossette a while, and it was late afternoon when they sat in their plane, on the runway, with Trigger and Count in position as ground control.

"Okay Avril," said Count, "Everything looks good down here. You're clear for preflight checks."

"Copy that." responded Avril. "Ejection seats are good, pins released... canopy's good... cockpit's clean... and we're strapped in."

"...So," asked Cossette, "You've really flown before?"

"Yep. Different plane, but pretty much the same avionics as this one. I should be juuuust fine."

"How'd it go? Your... first flight."

"Well... took off okay, got up to altitude, passed the sound barrier, then got shot down by an Osean F-15, crashed, imprisoned, and forced to build planes so the military could send petty criminals like Count and Trigger to die on the front lines."

"...oh."

"Eh, don't worry. The war's over, and anyway this time we've at least got flares."

"I am... not exactly reassured."

"Oh well," sighed Avril, "it was worth a shot. CNI is on... flaps, rudder, elevators, spoilers, ailerons... okay, control surfaces are good. I'm ready to taxi."

"Righto, Avril. You may start your engines now."

"Okay... there, they're running. Taxiing now."

The old aircraft slowly moved out of the hangar and onto the runway. Slowly, Avril pulled the throttle back and turned the wheels, pulling the aircraft until it was parallel with the runway.

"Alright, everything looks ready, all that's left is to take off. Cossette?"

"I'm... ready." said Cossette in a small voice.

"Alright then, here we go."

Avril switched on the afterburners and pushed the throttle forward. The plane shot forward, slowly picking up speed until its wheels left the ground.

Avril whooped. "We are airborne! Gear up, flaps raised, and off we go."

Cossette yelped, and Count laughed, and Avril pushed the throttle to full. Pulling the stick back, Avril flew upward, and experimentally rolled left to right.

Trigger's voice came over the radio. "Avril, how's it going?" 

Avril laughed with delight. "This bucket makes my drag racer look agile."

A sigh. "So does that mean you forgive me?"

"Not _quite_ yet, dumbass."

"Hey, this was Count's idea, not mine!"

Avril glanced at the speed indicator. "Past Mach 1... whoa, this thing's got a kick."

The plane rocketed onward, and for a moment Avril turned her gaze upward, then looked back at her copilot. "Cossette, you holding on back there?"

"...yes, I think."

"Good enough. You ready?"

"For... what?"

Avril grinned savagely. "For... _this_." She pulled back on the control stick, tilting the plane until they were flying straight upward.

Cossette made a whimpering sound, but she hung on well enough. Avril checked the altimeter: four thousand meters. Five thousand. Six. Seven. Eight. At nine thousand, the stall alarm started to blare, and Avril rolled the plane over until they were flying upside down, then flipped around, levelling it out.

Cossette gathered enough of herself to slowly peer over the plane's wing. She laughed a little, then said "We're above the clouds."

Avril, on the other hand, wasn't looking at the clouds. She was looking straight up. "Dark blue..." she whispered to herself, quiet enough that Cossette only barely heard it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually used the USAF manual for the Phantom's operation as a reference for this chapter, lol. This flight probably wasn't regulation, but who cares? The lesbians got to have fun.
> 
> Anyway, next chapter will come soon enough, I hope. In the meantime, don't be ashamed to leave kudos or a comment, I promise it will make my day. Until next time!


	8. Not like I want her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avril is... worried, to say the least, about her relationship with Cossette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: graphic description of panic attack.

Avril looked up from her book to see Cossette walking into the living room. The princess sighed deeply, sitting down in one of the (absurdly plush) chairs.

"Rough day?" asked Avril.

Cossette looked up. "I was... just talking with Count."

Avril chuckled. "Yeah, our 'Sir Count' is a bit of an... acquired taste."

Cossette laughed then. Avril sighed. _She looks so happy..._

Avril sat there, entranced by Cossette's laughter, until the princess met her gaze and she looked away, blushing furiously. "I- uh... I have to go."

Avril quickly left, while Cossette watched, a confused expression on her face.

* * *

Avril slammed the door to her room shut, slumping against the wall. She groaned. _How am I this bad at being subtle?_ _Does Cossette know?_

 _Maybe she knows, and she's just hiding it so she doesn't... let me down? I don't know!_ Avril's heart pounded in her chest.

 _If this keeps up, it's only a matter of time before she finds out. What do I even do then?_ Avril's throat closed up.

 _Would she- wait._ "Wait" Avril said, pausing her anxious spiral. She put a hand to her chest. Her heart was racing, and it felt hard to breathe. Was she...

"Oh, for fucks sake," Avril said aloud. _I'm having a panic attack._

 _Okay! I've been here before, this... well, it'll be alright._ What had she done before?

Her mind wandered to all those months ago, back at 444th airbase. She had keeled over, leaning against the wall outside her cell, hyperventilating, and then...

And then Tabloid had been there, asking her what was wrong, offering to help. She had told him about how it all _hurt_ , and he pressed his lips together before fishing around in the pocket of his flight suit and pulling out a lemon. "I need you to bite into this."

Avril had glared at him incredulously, and he had just smiled and said "Trust me."

As she bit into it, he had explained "See, the first thing this does is that when you're having a panic attack, just me suggesting that you bite it distracts you from everything going on in your head. Next, of course, that bitter, painful taste gives you something to focus on, helps more with the distraction. It's called... a grounding technique, I think."

Avril swallowed, coughing. "How do you know all that?"

Tabloid grinned. "It's useful information! Never know when I might need it. And... well, that kind of thing's happened to me before."

Avril looked at him. "So, what, you carry a lemon on you all the time, just in case?"

Tabloid nodded. "Exactly!"

Avril sighed. _Not like Tabloid can help me this time..._

She still remembered what happened. It wasn't easy to forget: Tabloid and Georg, running towards cover with that little girl. Tabloid looking up, then shoving Georg and the girl forward. And then the drone hit the ground, and Tabloid was gone, And Avril didn't even have time to look for him, because she had to get all those people to safety, then get to that carrier and fix up those planes so a bunch of dumbasses could maybe save the world.

Call her selfish, but she wished she hadn't had to do all that.

Avril sat there, trying to steady her breathing, for a long time. After... well, she wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she got up off the floor and lay down in her bed. It wasn't that late, not really, but she decided to just sleep anyway. _Maybe it'll help clear my head._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I did say there would be angst in this story, didn't I?
> 
> More is on its way, and as always, feel free to leave kudos or a comment if you want to give me free serotonin!


	9. I'm not that girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cossette gets some time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warnings: referenced abuse/homophobia, death of a parent.

Cossette frowned as she watched Avril hurry off. _Why is she leaving so suddenly?_ she wondered, then dismissed the idea. In any case, she was gone. Avril reached over to pick up a book, then thought better of it and sighed, relaxing in the Chateau's plush couch. _What am I going to do?_

It was definitely certain now, she was in love with Avril. It made sense, she hadn't exactly felt too interested in the boys back at her school. She had always assumed that she'd find one someday... but she supposed not. She hadn't felt much for the girls either, or anyone else. Until she met Avril, she supposed.

Maybe she'd been interested from the start. She thought back to their first meeting: that horrible battlefield, and the woman from the other side who came to save her. She had thought she was dreaming, at first. After then... well, she _had_ felt somewhat... nervous, those days spent travelling with the 444 soldiers. She had thought it was from the obvious "running around a warzone with the people who were supposed to be her enemies" but... now that she thought about it, she only really had that feeling around... around _her_. And then that boat ride... well, it seemed she really _had_ been in love with Avril all this time.

_What would my father have thought?_

Her father: Jacques Brossard D'elise. The king of Erusea. He... hadn't seemed to have an opinion on her kind of love before. As far as Cossette could remember, he was fully neutral, although... well, he hadn't really bothered teaching her about it either. Luckily, her friends at school had helped with that. And when she had mentioned it to him... he had seemed uncomfortable about the concept. She had been expected to have a husband, an heir... maybe he wouldn't have approved? _Well... he's gone now. It doesn't matter anyway._

It was strange. Her own father was dead, and... she almost didn't care. Well, she did, but... it was hard for her to really... feel sad about it. Maybe, on some level, she still thought he was alive, that he'd walk through the door any second, like he was never really gone. Maybe it was because she knew he wasn't... well, her father wasn't a good man. She had accepted that by now. Maybe that was why she didn't really... feel anything about his death. She remembered, over 9 months ago now, she had asked her father if he really thought the war was right. He had snapped, shouting at her, calling her an "Osean sympathizer". The memory made Cossette shudder, even now.

 _Well, he may have been right after all,_ Cossette thought, and then laughed to herself. Certainly falling in love with an Osean girl was not at all what her father would have wanted from her. _Oh well,_ she thought, and then laughed again.

Those two pilots passed by her couch, hand in hand. One of them- Count, she remembered,- gave her a wave as they passed by. Cossette watched them go. She admired and envied their love: open, warm, and unafraid. It wasn't anything taboo or unheard of for them, it was just how they felt. She wanted to be like that someday: to be completely unashamed of how she felt.

As the pilots left, she quietly whispered to herself: "My name is princess Rosa Cossette D'elise, and... I am a lesbian." She whispered that two more times, then sighed. "Well, it's a start."

_Does Avril feel the same way?_

Well, that was the real question. Avril was a difficult woman to read, that was for sure. According to Cossette's impromptu education from her old high school friends, Avril's haircut was certainly one associated with queer women. And she certainly hadn't shown any interest in men, or at least, none that Cossette knew about. Of course, that didn't necessarily imply that she liked Cossette, specifically. Still, Cossette figured the odds were in favor of Avril being... well, not straight. 

Had Avril ever really shown that she liked Cossette? That plane flight last week had seemed a little... charged, surely, but maybe that was just her excitement to be flying again. Avril carrying her to bed the month before might also be an indicator, or maybe it was just Avril being a good friend?

Cossette groaned. She was still all too new to romance as a whole, much less gay romance. She thought about asking those pilots again... but she had already bothered them earlier, and she didn't want them to seem uncomfortable. _Maybe some other time._

 _Maybe Avril running away just then was because..._ Cossette pushed the thought away. She was overthinking things, and she was biased by _wanting_ Avril to be in love with her. She looked up at the clock. 10:30. _I think I need some sleep._ She would think about all this some other time. For now, what she needed was rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I missed a week there. I'm working on doing these regularly, but sometimes real life gets in the way.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, next chapter will be up soon! (hopefully)


	10. When do you get to choose?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the midst of a difficult situation, Avril and Cossette have a much needed conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rough one. Content warnings: violence, injury, suicidal ideation.

There was a crash from across the Chateau. Avril looked up. "What was _that?"_

Cossette shrugged.

Avril sighed and stood up. "I guess I'll check on it. Probably nothing."

Avril walked down the hall, then stopped, seeing a figure ahead of her. They were wearing all black, and she couldn't make out anything identifying them.

As she slowly walked closer, the figure turned around. Avril waved. "Hello?"

The figure didn't answer. Instead, they started to walk towards her. It was then that Avril noticed something in their hand. It looked like a tool, or a weird phone, or maybe-

It was a gun.

"Oh _shit._ "

Avril ran just as the figure started shooting. Her mind raced- what were they doing here? Were they- oh, of course.

Avril ran back into the drawing room, grabbing Cossette's hand. "Cossette! We have to go!"

Cossette got up. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Avril looked back, just in time to see the figure round the corner.

"No time to explain- RUN!"

The two ran, as more shots rang out from behind them.

"What do we do?" Avril shouted.

Cossette gasped, then reached out and grabbed Avril's hand. "This way!"

Cossette led Avril up the palace stairs, through the top floor of the Chateau. More shots rang out from behind them, but Cossette just gritted her teeth and kept running.

At last, Cossette reached her bedroom, pulling Avril inside and slamming the door. She opened a panel on the wall, revealing a metal lever. There was a loud clanking from the walls.

"What was that?" Avril shouted.

"The Chateau wasn't just for show. This room is well fortified- it would take a tank to get through that door."

The two sat down on the floor, catching their breath. Their assailant pounded on the door a few times, and then they heard the sound of footsteps. Once the sound subsided, Cossette sighed. "Who was that?"

"They must've been after you. Maybe some Erusean Radicals, or- are you BLEEDING?"

Cossette looked down at her arm. She laughed, humorlessly. "Apparently."

"When did that happen!"

"There was a lot of shooting, I suppose," said Cossette, as Avril disappeared into the bathroom.

"Get in here, please, I need to clean the wound." Avril's voice was carefully controlled, but Cossette didn't miss the note of panic.

With one hand over her arm, Cossette stepped in. Avril gently pulled the princess' fingers away, then sighed. "Looks like they just nicked you."

Avril turned on the water, pushing Cossette's arm inside. She flinched, but held on. "Okay. It doesn't... it doesn't look that bad. Does it hurt?"

Cossette looked at Avril.

Avril's face heated up. "Right, stupid question." She reached over to grab a washcloth, dabbing at Cossette's injury.

"Where's the first aid kit?"

Cossette pointed at the cabinet, and Avril nodded. Pulling the door open, she grabbed the small red box. She rummaged around in it for a moment, then pulled out a length of gauze. "Alright. Now, I just have to bandage you up."

Avril slowly wrapped the gauze around Cossette's upper arm.

"Where did you learn how to do all that?" Cossette wondered.

"It was kind of a... necessary skill, back in the 444. The prison guards didn't exactly care if one of us got hurt, so we had to learn how to take care of ourselves." Avril sighed. "You're all good. Keep pressure on that wound."

Cossette slumped against the cabinet. Suddenly, she sat up. "The others!"

Avril flinched. "Um... right, Trigger and Count are off on their date night. What about that butler? Elias?"

"He's not here either. I guess it's just us."

"Try calling for help."

Avril fished the phone Cossette had gotten her out of her pocket, then sighed. "No service."

"Of course, the satellite network still isn't fully fixed. "It'll take months to fully fix it. I'm the one working on it."

"So, no way to call for help, we're alone in here, and there's a crazy gunman outside who wants to kill you. Great."

Cossette sighed.

Avril's mind raced, trying to think of something.

Avril looked up. "We could-"

"There's another way to call for help." Cossette's voice was small, and she didn't meet Avril's gaze.

Avril broke into a laugh. "Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"There's an old landline phone, but it's.... it's outside. I won't have long, but I should be able to get help."

Avril's smile faded. "Cossette, that asshole outside will kill you before you get close."

"No. No, I'll have enough time to make that call."

"But-"

"It's okay. You'll be okay. Just stay here. Help will come soon. I-"

"Cossette, no! You'll die!"

Cossette finally looked up, and Avril saw the tears on her cheeks. "I can do this, Avril. And... well, you'll be okay, right? That's enough. Just... as long as you're okay." She took a deep breath. "Avril, I-"

"NO!" Avril shouted. "God damnit, why do you always have to do this?"

"I- Avril, I'm trying to _save you_ -"

"No." Avril's voice shook. "You've done this before. On- On Tyler Island. You ran at a _tank_ , Cossette. You didn't have to do that. And- and again, at the Lighthouse. You didn't have to jump, I- I thought you were _dead!_ Why do you always have to- sacrifice yourself like that?"

"I... I was trying to _help you_ -"

"Well what about you? When are you going to- going to consider yourself, for a change? Why are _you_ always the one who has to die for everyone else?"

Cossette sighed. "It's better this way. You'll make it out, you'll be alright-"

Avril grabbed Cossette's hands. "Cossette, _look at me_."

Cossette slowly met Avril's eyes.

Avril squeezed her hands. "You matter too. You don't have to do this. You are not going to make that call, you are going to stay in here, and we will get through this. _Together._ Okay?"

Cossette nodded.

Avril let go, and stood up. "So let's take care of this asshole. _My way._ "

* * *

The asshole in question turned around to a sound of clanking coming from the princess' bedroom. They walked over and experimentally tried the doorknob. It turned, and they smiled. They pushed the door open, and slowly stepped inside.

It didn't look like there was anyone there, so they cautiously entered, handgun at the ready.

Avril jumped on them from behind, wrapping an arm around their neck, and twisting their wrist with the other.

The asshole grunted. "Drop. It." Avril whispered in their ear, twisting their wrist more with each word.

The gun clattered to the floor, and Avril pulled at their throat. "Now, go to sleep."

Suddenly, there was a searing pain in Avril's leg. Looking down, she saw a knife in the asshole's hand, buried in her thigh. She screamed.

"NO!" Cossette burst out of the closet, looking around. Her eyes fell on the chair next to her desk, and she lifted it over her head, running at the asshole. Avril got the message, and let go just in time for Cossette to hit them with the chair, breaking it over their head. The asshole crumpled on the floor.

Avril sighed, then knelt, checking the asshole's pulse. "They're alive. Probably got a concussion, but alive."

"You've been stabbed."

Avril grimaced. "Yeah, I have. Bring me that first aid kit, please?"

Cossette complied, lying it on the ground next to Avril.

"Right," Avril said, "I can handle this. You can make that phone call now."

Cossette smiled, and stood up, walking out. As she left, Avril said "And Cossette? Remember what I said back there. You matter too."

Cossette nodded. "I will."

* * *

Two days later, in a café in Selatapura, a man opened a newspaper to the headline **Erusean Princess Escapes Assassination.**

Curious, he looked over the story.

_Two days ago, on May 26th, 2020, a man now identified as Nathaniel Watts broke into the Chateau D'Elise, intending to kill the princess. He has now revealed that he did this as retaliation for the Princess undoing what the Radicals had worked towards during the Lighthouse War. Cossette is alive, though she sustained minor injuries. She attributes her survival to the actions of her palace mechanic, Avril Mead, pictured with her below._

As he read, the man smiled, and once he got to the picture, he started to laugh. There, in the photo, were Avril Mead and Rosa Cossette D'Elise, standing together, looking like they'd been through hell (which, to be fair, they had).

The man sighed, ignoring the strange looks from the others in the café. _Chateau D'Elise,_ he thought. _I'll have to pay them a visit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of thoughts about Cossette regarding how she always has to sacrifice herself. I really wanted to do something with that, so here it is.
> 
> Oh, did you think this was the confession? Sorry, this is a slowburn, try again in another 10,000 words.


	11. A new day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picking up the pieces after the assassination attempt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit, how long has it been?
> 
> Sorry! I lost motivation, and i'm getting hit pretty hard with burnout now. I promise I'll try to keep updating regularly.

Avril lay down on the couch, sighing. "If I have to do ONE MORE INTERVIEW, I'm going to kill someone."

Cossette grinned, sitting down next to her. "You get used to it."

Trigger, sitting opposite them, nodded. "It's annoying, though. At least _your_ publicity should die down in a few weeks."

Count shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

Everyone glared at him.

"Sorry" Count mumbled.

Avril sat up. "If I had known what the media would be like, I might have just let the Radicals kill us."

"Avril," Cossette said.

"Right, bad joke."

"I can't believe it's been six months, and those guys are still out there," said Count. "You'd think they'd give up by now."

"They're upset that Cossette's choosing to care about other people, not just the country," explained Trigger. "Honestly, If those guys hate you, I'd take it as a compliment."

"Well, somehow I don't feel complimented," joked Cossette.

Avril sighed. "Well... what now?"

Cossette took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Everyone stared at her.

"Well, it _is_ my fault we were attacked. We're lucky to be alive, and they were after _me._ They could have killed you, and it's _my_ fault that you were here to begin with."

There was a pause, then Avril sighed and spoke. "Cossette, you idiot, we've talked about this. It wasn't your fault."

"I know, I know, just-" Cossette sighed. "If something happened to you, to _any_ of you... I couldn't forgive myself."

"But we're fine, Cossette. I'm a little beat up, sure, but we're okay. Don't beat yourself up like that."

Cossette let out a brittle laugh. "A little beat up? You got _stabbed,_ Avril."

"Hey, I've been through worse. And we're all alive now, aren't we?" Avril put her hand on Cossette's shoulder. "You don't need to feel bad about what happened. We're okay now, and that's all that matters."

Trigger and Count shared a look.

Cossette sighed. "No, you're right. It's... we are all safe, and I shouldn't worry about it any more."

Avril grinned. "There we go. That's progress! I'm proud of you."

Cossette blushed. "Thank you."

"Are they still not together?" whispered Count.

"They're idiots," Trigger whispered back.

* * *

The man sighed. How was he going to get to the chateau? He didn't exactly have money.

He looked around. The city streets were still packed, but it got less dense near some of the tall buildings. The man walked over to one building, with a sign over the door identifying it as "Corporate Headquarters: General Resource Limited".

The man smiled. Perfect.

In the emptiest of the building's parking lots, there was an absurdly fancy car, parked alone. It probably belonged to someone high up, maybe even a CEO. Regardless, it was probably someone rich enough that they wouldn't mind one missing car.

Getting in was easy. After all, he'd had some experience stealing from rich people, and the car wasn't all that well protected from thieves. The owner had even left the keys on the dashboard.

"Could've at least made it a challenge," he muttered to himself, driving the car out of the parking lot.

He checked the map he had... _borrowed_. That chateau was a long way inland, but he's probably get there in a day or two. He sighed. "Well, best get to driving, long way to go."

* * *

Avril opened the door and sighed. "How can I help you?"

The reporter smiled. "I just wanted to talk to the princess about her ordeal a few days ago."

Avril put on her most fake smile. "I'm sorry, the princess isn't doing any more interviews about her... experience."

"Well... what about you, then? You're that mechanic, right? Do you have anything to say?"

Avril slammed the door in their face. "Third one today. Don't they ever learn?"

Cossette smiled. "Apparently not."

"Well, maybe they'll start. Hopefully soon, I'm sick of slamming the door."

"Well... thank you, Avril."

"Anything for you, princess." Avril gave an exaggerated curtsy.

Cossette blushed.

Across the room, Count lay his head in his hands. "Idiots..." he mumbled.

Trigger patted him on the back. "Now you know how I feel."

"Thanks," said Count, "I hate it."

"Oh, cheer up. They've gotta find out eventually. Nobody's _that_ oblivious."

"Except you."

"Hey!" said Trigger, indignantly. "I made the first move, not you!"

"After I spent _months_ flirting with you, dumbass."

"Oh, you were busy flirting, THAT's why I killed _3 times_ as many bandits as you."

"Hey!"

Trigger laughed. "Fuck, I love you."

Count sighed. "Love you too. Even when you're a pain in my ass."

"Same to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who is the mystery car thief? i don't know, let me check my outline. *papers rustling* Ah, it's [REDACTED].
> 
> leave kudos to give me instant serotonin! leave a comment and i will die for you!


	12. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no shame in letting someone be there for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: anxiety/panic attack

_The stripes on the lesbian pride flag, from top to bottom, represent 'gender non-conformity' (dark orange), 'independence' (orange), 'community' (light orange), 'unique relationships to womanhood' (white) , 'serenity and peace' (pink), 'love and sex' (dusty pink), and 'femininity' (dark rose). This flag was introduced after..._

Avril cleared her throat, and Cossette flinched hard, slamming her laptop with perhaps slightly more force than necessary. Avril laughed. "That was fast. What were you looking at?"

"Just- just the new proposals from parliament!" Cossette lied, sweating. Her heart pounded, as she thought how close she had come to... well, nothing good, for sure.

Avril raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" Her voice had a teasing tone which did nothing to ease Cossette's newfound panic.

"Yes! You just... startled me, is all." Avril looked unconvinced.

"...Well, I'm sorry."

"I-it's fine. I should go." Cossette grabbed her laptop and rushed up the stairs.

Avril sighed. "...What was that about?"

* * *

Cossette slammed the door to her study shut. _What was I thinking?!? She almost saw, for god's sake!_ _What if she knows?_

She sighed. This was... not ideal. _Okay. I'm going to try and get some work done. Maybe it'll take my mind off of it._

Cossette's work did not take her mind off of Avril. She kept thinking back to that... slip up. Avril had to know something was going on. She was doing a terrible job of being subtle. Even Avril wasn't dumb enough to not realize it... was she?

She shook her head. _So much for taking my mind off it._ She pulled the document up for the fifth time- more relief plans for all the refugees in Selatapura, plus more demilitarization agreements. They should've been easy to look over and approve, but her heart was still pounding from what had happened earlier. She sighed, rubbing her face and trying to gather her thoughts.

Any semblance of concentration she had managed to gather was immediately shattered by a knock at her door.

"Cossette? Are you in there?" Avril's voice was full of concern.

Cossette laid her head in her hands. _Great. Just what I needed._

The knocking resumed. "Look, I just wanted to apologize. You seemed pretty shaken up, are you alright?"

Cossette said nothing. Her heart quickened, and she didn't know whether it was anxiety or anticipation.

Avril sighed outside her door. "Okay, if you don't say anything, I'm coming in."

Cossette remained silent. _Well, might as well face the music._

Avril gently opened the door. "Hey, are you alright?

Cossette sighed. "I'm just... still a little shaken up."

Avril looked concerned. "Look, I'm sorry for teasing you like that. I didn't know it'd be that bad. And you can do whatever you want on your computer, I don't care-"

"Avril!"

The mechanic was taken aback. "...I'm sorry"

"No, it isn't your fault." Cossette ran a hand through her hair. "I'm just... I don't know."

"Hey, hey," said Avril softly. She put her hand on the princess's shoulder. "I'm here for you."

Cossette smiled, ignoring the small panic at Avril touching her. "I'm just feeling very... anxious right now."

Avril frowned. "Oh no." she whispered to herself, so quietly that Cossette barely heard it. "How bad is it?"

Cossette laughed bitterly. "A little hard to think straight." she said, and then cringed at the unintentional pun. "Just... a lot going on." She sat down on the floor, and Avril followed suit.

"Has that been happening all this time?" The concern in Avril's voice was enough to reaffirm Cossette's conviction that she was _deeply_ in love.

"Yes, about since I... left."

"Okay, don't-" Avril sighed. "Stay calm, okay? I think you're having a panic attack."

Cossette did not, in fact, stay calm. "I'm... what?"

"A panic attack. Don't worry, I get them all the time."

"You WHAT?"

"Just stay calm, okay?" Avril's voice was stern. "I can help you. Just try to breathe. Deep breaths."

"I'm trying."

"Good. Keep breathing for me, okay?"

Cossette nodded.

"Good. Now, we're going to try a grounding technique. Name five things you can see, please?"

Cossette nodded. "You." She looked around. "The chair. My... my laptop." She brought her hands p to her face. "Me. And... the window."

Avril smiled. "Good! Now, four things you can hear?"

The princess thought for a moment, trying to ignore how attractive Avril's tone of voice was. "You. My... computer fan." She cocked her head. "The heater, and... the wind outside."

"Great job!" said Avril. "Three things you can touch?"

"Your hand, The floor, and the air."

"You're doing great, princess, just keep breathing. Two things you can smell?"

Cossette smiled at the praise. "My perfume, and the air."

"You wear perfume?"

"Not always, but most of the time."

"Being a princess sounds exhausting. One thing you can taste?"

"My teeth."

Avril smiled, and Cossette felt dizzy at her beauty. "Good job! Feeling better?"

"I think so."

"Hold on, said Avril. She put a hand on Cossette's chest, and her friend barely stifled a yelp. Avril grimaced, feeling her cheeks grow hot. "Sorry, just feeling your heartbeat."

After a moment, Avril took her hand away. "Okay, I think it's mostly better. Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's okay!" said Cossette. "Just... would have liked some warning."

Avril looked at the floor. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

Cossette looked up at her friend. "You said you've had those before?"

"A few times." Avril's gaze was far away. "I've got a few more remedies, if you're interested."

"You do?"

Avril waved her off. "I'll tell you about them later." She stood up to leave.

"Wait." Cossette looked up at Avril. "Could you stay here for a minute?"

Avril sighed fondly. "Of course, princess."

The two of them sat there together for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a fine line between hurt/comfort and praise kink, and by god i'm walking it.
> 
> Leave a comment if you want to give me instant serotonin!


	13. You came back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long due reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my upload schedule is bad. i have no apologies.
> 
> last chance: place your bets on who the mystery car thief is!

Avril shook her head. "It just doesn't look like _you_."

Cossette sighed. "It's a royal portrait. It represents how I am seen as the queen."

"First of all: not for another year, princess. And second, I know what it represents, but could they at least _try_ to make it look like you?"

"That is not the point. The point is to provide a... regal image of me, for the people to look up to."

Avril scoffed. "Well, I like the real you just fine."

Cossette looked away. "It's hard to imagine that I'm going to be the queen."

"Lot of responsibility." Avril nodded.

"It is. I was supposed to wait until my father stepped down, but..."

"I'm sorry."

The princess shook her head. "Don't be. He was unsuited to being the king to begin with. The war, giving in to the Radicals, the drones... my father was not a good man."

Avril put her hand on the princess's shoulder. "You're not like him, though. I think you'll be a good queen."

Cossette smiled. "Thank you."

Avril turned away, then stopped, looking out the Chateau's ornate front window. "Uh... was that car always there?"

Cossette turned around. "I-"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the front door, a short distance away from them.

Cossette turned around. "Are you... expecting someone?"

Avril shook her head. "Are you?"

"No." The two stood there in silence for a moment. Another knock rang out.

"So..." Avril said. "Last time someone showed up here unexpectedly, it was that assassin, right?"

Cossette nodded. 

"Right." Avril pulled a small metal object out of her pocket.

"What is..." Cossette was cut off when Avril flicked a switch, and the blade extended fully.

"It's the one that last guy stabbed me with. Had to be prepared."

"Do you just carry that around at all times?" Another knock.

"Do you really want to have that conversation now?"

Cossette sighed. "Open the door. Let's hope whoever it is isn't going to try to kill us."

Avril took a deep breath, reached out...

...And opened the door.

On the other side stood a familiar looking man. He had short, undercut blond hair, a beard that seemed to have gotten even more raggedy, and was wearing civilian clothes rather than the flight suit they remembered.

But Tabloid's grin was unmistakable.

He waved awkwardly. "Hey there."

Avril dropped the knife. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "...Tabloid?"

Tabloid laughed. "The one and only!"

Cossette was frozen in place. After a moment, all she could think to say was "...But you're dead."

Tabloid sighed. "I mean, I don't _think_ so. I feel pretty alive."

There was an awkward silence.

Tabloid cleared his throat. "Are you guys okay? I know it's a lot-"

Avril ran forward and wrapped her old friend in a bone-crushing hug. Cossette followed suit, wrapping her arms around both of them, tears in her eyes.

Tabloid chuckled. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you missed me."

Avril hugged him tighter. "Shut the FUCK up, Belkan."

That got a laugh out of him. "Alright."

Trigger and Count ran in from the next room. "Are you okay?" Trigger said. "We heard-" His eyes met Tabloid's.

"I knew you'd make it." Tabloid said.

Trigger gasped, and Count said "No fucking way."

Tabloid waved his free hand. "Come on, get in here."

Wordlessly, Trigger and Count joined the group hug.

* * *

"So how are you alive?" asked Count, about an hour of catching up later. "Seriously, I thought you got crushed by a drone."

Tabloid shrugged. "Well, it's a long story. As Avril knows, Georg and I went out during the whole Arsenal Bird battle to try and save a little girl from being crushed.

"You succeeded, too." said Avril.

"Anyway, I saw a drone going down towards us, and it looked like it was going to hit. So, I shoved the girl and Georg forward, and then he drone hit. I really don't blame you for thinking I was dead."

"But you're not." said Trigger. "So did it... not hit you?"

Tabloid pointed at him. "Bingo. It hit the ground and exploded, but left no damage to me other than a mild concussion and some shrapnel in my leg." Cossette winced.

"So," said Avril. "Then what?"

"Well, I got up about an hour or so later, and you had left with the refugees, and taken our boat with you. Luckily, there were a few intact cars on the bridge to the space elevator, and I was able to hotwire one of them and take it into the city. And I've been living there, among the refugees, ever since."

"Except you're here now." said Trigger.

"Yep! I saw an article about the Scrap Queen and the Princess fighting off an assassin, and that's how I found out where you are now. So, I stole another car, and drove up here."

Avril laughed. "What is it with you and stealing cars?"

"What can I say? I needed transportation, and the owner's probably rich enough to afford another. Seems fair to me."

"So you'll be staying here now?" interjected Cossette. "With us?"

Tabloid shrugged. "If you'll have me."

"Well," said Avril, "there's plenty of room in the palace. I'm sure we can let you stay.

Tabloid grinned. "I missed you guys. It's good to be back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay look: i think tabloid deserved better, and his death scene was juuust vague enough that i can say he's still alive and you can't prove me wrong.
> 
> leave a comment and i'll die for you!


	14. A second opinion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avril's a bit of an idiot when it comes to romance. Tabloid's only just finding this out.

"So," said Avril. "I've got a problem."

The Scrap Queen (Royal Mechanic, apparently, thought Tabloid) paced her room, arms crossed. Tabloid sat on her bed, a concerned look on his face. "What kind of problem?"

She sighed and stopped pacing, turning towards Tabloid. "It's about the princess."

Tabloid sighed _Let me guess..._ "What about her?"

"I'm... in love with her."

Tabloid resisted the urge to say 'I knew it', instead saying "Does she know?"

"I don't think so. She hasn't said anything, at least."

"Are you going to tell her?"

Avril glared at him. "Wasn't planning on it."

Tabloid sighed. _I thought you'd say that._ "Too scared, huh?"

"Can you blame me? She's a princess. She could probably... have me beheaded or something."

Tabloid laughed. " _That's_ what you're worried about?"

"No- well, not entirely. I just-" Avril sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I don't want to screw things up with her. If she says no, I don't know what happens next."

"And if she says yes?"

"Well, I doubt it'd happen, but that'd be nice."

"Fair enough."

Avril sat down next to him. "So no thoughts on me liking girls?"

Tabloid laughed. "Honestly? Kind of guessed as much, back in Spare Squadron. Nothing about you really screams 'straight'."

Avril nodded. "Well, that's good. I'd really hate for anyone to think that about me."

The two burst into laughter at that. The laughter, of course, is more due to who they're with rather than the joke that was said, which really wasn't even all that funny, but sharing it with the friend she had thought dead for so long nearly brings Avril to tears laughing.

Avril sighed. "It's good to have you back, anarchist."

"Good to be back, Scrap Queen." Tabloid stood up. "You should tell Cossette how you feel."

"Absolutely not.

Tabloid sighed. "Fine. Good luck anyway." He stood up and left Avril's room.

Trigger and count stood outside. "She told you about the princess?" said Trigger.

Tabloid nodded. As the three walked away, Count said "The princess likes her back, you know."

Tabloid raised an eyebrow. "So why don't you tell her that?"

"Well," said Trigger, "One: Respect for Cossette's privacy. She told Count not to tell Avril, so we don't."

"Two," added Count. "It's almost funny watching them being so clueless. They really just don't know, even though it's... really obvious."

Tabloid chuckled. "You know, if High Roller was still around, he'd have us making bets on when those two get together."

Trigger laughed. "I say three, maybe four months, at least."

"Have a little faith, Trigger," said Tabloid. "Avril's smart, I give her a few weeks. Count?"

"Six months," said Count bluntly. "They're idiots, Tabloid. Don't expect them to be intelligent about their feelings."

"I thought the 'useless lesbian' thing was a stereotype."

Trigger sighed. "Not for them."

Tabloid nodded, and then stopped walking. The three were in the palace's Drawing room now, and he pointed at Trigger and Count. "What about you two? Have you figured things out yet?"

"Actually, yes," said Count. "We did a little after we left Spare."

Tabloid laughed. "No shit."

Trigger nodded. "We pride ourselves on our romantic intelligence."

"Wait'" said Count. "How'd you know?"

Tabloid shrugged. "You two seemed like you were flirting, back in the day. Figured you'd get together eventually."

"I thought I was being subtle!" Count groaned.

Trigger put a hand on Count's shoulder. "You weren't."

"Hey, you weren't either!"

"Was I even flirting?"

Count groaned. "Didn't you call me 'pretty boy' that one time?"

"He did," said Tabloid, helpfully. "I was there. Pretty sure it got Count all flustered, too."

Trigger shrugged. "Well, it wasn't subtle, but it worked, didn't it?."

Count sighed. "I mean, yeah."

"You two are _adorable,_ " said Tabloid. He was met with glares from both. "Hey, it's true!"

"Are you sure you can't go back to being dead?" joked Count.

Tabloid sighed. "I missed you, you asshole."

Trigger grinned. "We missed you too, anarchist."

"Feels like a bad joke," Tabloid thought aloud. "A fraudster, a murderer, and an anarchist walk into a bar..."

"...The bartender salutes the heroes of the Lighthouse war," completed Count.

Tabloid nodded. "Of all the people it could've been, us assholes happened to be good at flying."

Trigger shrugged. "It's happened before."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgot to add end notes... whoops.
> 
> anyway, this'll be the last chapter of 2020! we made it. good luck in 2021, ace combat fandom!
> 
> i hope you enjoyed!


	15. Never Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you remember the plot of Ace Combat X.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i leave the ace combat ao3 tag alone for a month, and now there's like 5 crossover fics, one of which appears to be written by an incel. guys, what happened.  
> enjoy this extremely late chapter, i'm sorry for having adhd.

Tabloid found Avril pacing the drawing room, nervously wringing her hands. "Um... Avril?"

Avril didn't respond. Tabloid walked over to her. As he got closer, he noticed that she was muttering something to herself under her breath. Tabloid just barely caught the word "...princess...". He put a hand on Avril's shoulder. "you okay?"

The Scrap Queen jumped. Tabloid backed away, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry. You just... look pretty on edge."

Avril sighed. "It's fine. I'll be alright."

Tabloid lowered his hands, walking a little closer to his friend. "Is it Cossette again?"

"How'd you guess?"

You really should tell her how you feel." Tabloid shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"She lived a sheltered life in a corrupt royal family," said Avril. "For all we know, she's homophobic."

"I'll warn Count and Trigger," joked Tabloid. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Avril burst into laughter, and Tabloid followed suit.

After laughing harder than she had in a long time, Avril sobered up. She sighed. "Cossette's got more work to do. Apparently, there's some tension in south Osea, and she's got to declare Erusea's neutrality."

"We're a whole continent away from there, though. Are they that worried about Erusea stepping in?"

"The last war proved that Erusea can launch a suprise attack from halfway across the world. And they still maintain diplomatic relations with one of them- Leasath, I think. They need assurance that Erusea won't step in if war starts."

Tabloid sighed. "Countries, borders, wars. It all just keeps happening."

"Maybe you've got a point about all that. People care too much about what side everyone's on. "

Tabloid grinned. "Have I finally managed to radicalize you?"

"Pretty sure you got Trigger and Count too. Congratulations, now we're all anarchists."

Tabloid chuckled. "And yet we're living in the home of the soon-to-be Queen."

"Well, we're hypocrites."

That got a laugh out of him. "So... what are you going to do about the princess?"

Avril shrugged. "I don't want to make her uncomfortable or anything, but... I think I should go check on her. Just to make sure she's okay."

"Do it."

"Are you sure?"

"You only life once. Go talk to her. Try to tell her how you feel."

"Still not telling her!" Avril said, beginning to walk away.

Tabloid watched her go. "Eh, worth a shot."

* * *

Avril cautiously opened the door to the Princess' study. "Hey, Cossette."

Cossette sighed. She was slumped over her desk, her head in her hands. "Hello Avril."

Avril walked over to the desk, putting one hand on her friend's shoulder. Cossette flinched. "Are you doing alright?" asked Avril.

"Just... tired. I have to get this done soon. Leasath bought a lot of technology from Erusea, back when my... when the King was in power. I have to finish this statement of neutrality, or else we'll be dragged into another war."

"Hey, don't worry. You can do this." Cossette's face grew hot, and she looked away from Avril.

"I know. I just need to keep at it." She groaned. "I hope it works.

"It'll work. But don't push yourself too hard."

"I'm _fine,_ Avril."

"Cossette, look at me."

Cossette looked up, into Avril's eyes. She was probably blushing, but she couldn't bring herself to look away.

"I don't want you passing out at your desk again, okay? I know what you're doing is important, but you need to take care of yourself too."

"Avril, the country-"

"-Won't get destroyed because you took a break."

Cossette looked away. "...I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Just... try to take care of yourself, please."

"I... I will." Avril smiled.

As she left, she turned and said "Thank you."

* * *

"How'd it go?" asked Tabloid.

Avril sighed deeply. "She's getting better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man, there's a lot of wars in strangereal. I bet none of them would happen if there were no borders (/j).
> 
> tune in next time for more shenanigans.


	16. Spares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruminations by the occupants of Chateau D'Elise on their previous occupations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaack! What did I miss? wait a second..... 1100 views?!?
> 
> thank you so much! also, you are all insane! have some more pining!!!

Avril stifled a yawn. "Man, do you guys ever think that Spare was like... traumatic for us?"

Tabloid shrugged. "Probably. I mean, it _was_ pretty bad in there. I heard they're classifying solitary confinement as torture now."

"Yeah, about time," said Count, an arm around Trigger. "Wish someone had given Bandog the memo sooner."

"What was with that guy?" wondered Tabloid. "You breathe wrong in front of him, boom, SOLITARY."

"Hold on," Count cleared his throat. "Spare 2! You were ordered to die for your country! Solitary, now!"

The four of them laughed together. "I hear Bandog's in jail now," said Trigger. "McKinsey too."

"Maybe we should visit them?" joked Avril.

"Ha ha, no," Tabloid deadpanned. "Fuck those guys."

"Amen," chorused the other three.

Avril sighed. "I don't know if I ever told you guys this, but I had a plan to leave Spare, back then."

Trigger sat up. "What?"

"Around the time we were going to Tyler Island, I found a phone and managed to get ahold of one of my dad's old Air Force buddies. From there, I sort of... blackmailed McKinsey into letting me go with him on the liason plane."

Count whistled appreciatively. I knew I liked you for a reason. Nice going."

"But you didn't go," said Tabloid. "What changed your mind?"

"There was only one seat left on the plane." Avril shrugged. "Didn't seem fair to leave the rest of you behind. If y'all are heading into hell, why shouldn't I go with you?"

"Very noble." Trigger nodded.

"And stupid," said Count. "You should've gotten out of there when you had the chance."

"Maybe, but then I wouldn't have saved all those people on Tyler Island. And... well, I wouldn't have met Cossette."

"You're such a sap." Tabloid laughed.

"Hey!" Avril sighed. "I _am_ really glad I met her though. She's really helped me grow, I think."

"You're a hopeless romantic, Scrap Queen," Count teased.

Avril glared at him. "Says the man who can't go five minutes without affection from his boyfriend."

"Come on, I'm not that clingy."

"You're literally sitting in Trigger's lap right now."

Count was indeed sitting in Trigger's lap, an arm around his lover's shoulder. "Well," said Trigger, "at least he voiced his feelings."

"Oh fuck you."

"You know I don't do that."

"Not what I meant!" Avril sighed.

Tabloid hummed thoughtfully. "I think Avril's right. Spare might have been kind of traumatic for us."

Avril glared at him. "Changing the subject, Belkan."

"No," said Trigger, "he's right. That place fucked us up."

Count nodded, looking up at him. "Remember how Bandog used to tell us our planes were worth more than we were? And we really just let them say that?"

Trigger absently ran a hand through the other man's hair. "All they ever told us was that we didn't matter, that we existed to die for them. Getting out of there was the best thing that could've happened to us."

"Burn Osea to the ground, am I right?" Tabloid smirked.

"Hell yeah." Avril high-fived the anarchist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus, but I have the remaining 4 chapters mostly planned out, so I think I can finish up relatively soon. I hope you enjoyed! pls leave kudos and/or comment if this was good, i crave validation.
> 
> burn osea to the ground.


End file.
